Fun With Alternate Universes
by Seasnake
Summary: In episode 298 of the anime we get to see Saburo and Fuyuki visit a few alternate universes. Cannon prompts for AU oneshots? How could I say no? Each chapter will be an different AU. Second chapters for an AU are possible if I get requests. All characters will be included and/or mentioned each chapter but episode 298 focused on Saburo so this story will too. De arimasu
1. Aliens

**Seasnake: In episode 298 of the anime we get to see Saburo and Fuyuki exploring a few alternate realities. Cannon prompts for AUs? How could I resist? Each chapter will be a different one shot about the AU. All chapters will be l****argely Saburo centered because episode 298 was. Will attempt timely updates.  
**

**K for world conquering. Characters have had different lives so might be slightly different from cannon. Most relationships are the same.  
**

The Keronians are a warrior race with a habit of conquering worlds. They had quite a few races of sworn enemies and a handful of powerful allies as well. To be a Keronian ally a race had to be powerful otherwise the Keronians just enslaved them all. Perhaps their smartest alliance was with the Angol tribe. However, a more recent alliance was with the mighty Terrian race.

The race was from the planet Terra. The Keronians came to their solar system intent on conquer but quickly changed their plans. The Terrians were physically very strong, just as intelligent as Keronians, and had excellent technology. The only reason they hadn't expanded to space tyrants themselves was due to politics. There was a long standing religion on Terra that insisted the Gods didn't want them to venture into the heavens. The emperor of Terra was content with warding off the invaders and nothing more but the emperor's daughter and heir made a deal with the aliens. In exchange for help overthrowing her father, she would rule Terra and have the planet become a loyal ally and member of the Keronian's empire. It was an easier and more productive deal then fighting the entire planet so the Keronians agreed.

In short order, Terra had an empress and Terrians became integrated to Keronian society. Lower class Terrians live out their entire lives on Terra while the upper class citizens can get jobs in space or work with Keronians. A program is in place to collect promising Terrian youths and train them to take roles in Keronian society. It is considered an honor to be accepted into the Keronian army or government. Being the first member of his family line to be accepted into the program, made Saburo appreciate his station all that much more.

"They don't have a unified government so it is hard to predict how each societal group will react." Fuyuki spoke through the video communication link as he flipped through a thick book. "Even after initial invasion it seems unlikely that they will all band together. Some governments will but I doubt they all will."

"Anything else?" Saburo asked.

"A lot. They have a ton of history," Fuyuki sounded excited as he picked up a few more papers and shuffled through them. "You already know the location of established alien spaceports and markets. Oh, nobody has hard evidence but I think there might be a few ancient treasures buried there so keep an eye out for that."

"Alright, thank you for the update," Saburo could tell he wasn't going to say anything else useful so ended the communication. Fuyuki was technically still training to be a cultural specialist and not yet an actual employee of the Keronian government. But Saburo knew Fuyuki was competent at his work so he trusted his information. Besides, Fuyuki would be his in-law if he ended up getting married to his sister. Not a bad family to marry into considering they were a long line of powerful warriors. Their mother was currently a popular warrior with the Keronian public, especially the male Keronian public. Not to mention princess of Terra had an eye for Fuyuki.

Saburo walked to the nearest window and watched the stars move past. There wasn't much to see at the moment except for his reflection. Terrians had a much grander taste in fashion than their Keronian allies. Saburo's uniform was navy blue with gold trim and two gold and purple stripes down the front. He was on a mission to conquer sentient life forms so he also wore a purple cape with a red lining, matching applets, and a simple gold circlet. This was his first assignment as a commanding officer. He would get this right. He hadn't become a Second Lieutenant by fluke. The planet Pekpopon would be conquered quickly and efficiently under his command.

He felt the ship slow so he walked to the control room. He took his place standing in the center of the room on an elevated platform. Pekopon came into view on the main screen. It was a pretty planet but the dominate life form left much to be desired.

"Every ship is moving into position," one Keronian gave an update. Other then his command platform, the room was filled with Keronian minions sitting at computer monitors. Saburo had ordered the several vessels that had traveled with the mother ship to circle the planet and be on the look out for any surprises.

"No hostile ships in view, Sir," another Keronian at a computer reported.

"Do a full sweep. Vipers have been reported in this area," Saburo ordered then typed a command into his podium computer. "Tactical Expert, I need to own every satellite and anything that passes for a computer."

"Kuku, right away," he answered over the com link.

"Keep everything functional and do nothing except monitor communications until I say otherwise." Saburo ended that call and barked to the Keronians at the monitors, "landing status?"

"Target selected. All clear," came the report. Saburo nodded and opened another line.

"Sergeant Keroro, you know your orders, you're clear to depart."

"Sir, yes, Sir, preliminary landing party is go." A small pod ejected from the mother ship and shot towards the planet's surface. Keroro's platoon had a simple but important job, clear a small pre-selected area as a landing point and base of operations. Now there was a bit of waiting until the landing party reported back. Saburo stood still and tried not to look bored while they waited.

"Neutral merchant ship approaching the planet, Lieutenant," a Keronian reported.

"Redirect it. Make it clear what we're doing without saying so directly," Saburo ordered. He glanced at the clock. The landing party should be finished soon. A ping on his computer alerted him to a call from in-ship.

"I have their satellites. The rest will take a minute longer," reported the head technology specialist.

"Turn over control of the captured assets to the rest of the technical team and send me the concise list."

"Done. Kukuku." Saburo quickly read through the list and memorized the number of communication and weaponized satellites for future use.

"Mother Ship, come in. This is preliminary invasion leader Sergeant Keroro." The report came in through the main speakers. "Landing site secure. Ready for primary invasion force."

"Message received," a Keronian at a monitor responded then glanced to Saburo. The Terrian gave a nod.

Most invasion leaders liked to charge into the field, lead their troops by example, and shout orders over the chaos of battle. Saburo took a different approach. He stayed aboard the mothership as the invasion began. He focused on monitoring enemy movements and communications. He ordered troops about on a planetary scale to destroy the Pekoponian forces before they could get their bearings. His priority was to crush any potential counter attacks and personally handle the communication misdirection. He kept all lines of communication open but monitored their every transmission. Every important message was collected, rewritten, and rebroadcast without the receiver noticing the difference.

29% of the planet's population was locked inside special security domes by the time Saburo started to feel the least bit tired.

"It seems they're starting to figure it out." The lead tactical expert called while he was injecting himself with stimulants to stay awake. He was not about to head to bed and share the credit for this invasion with his second in command. "They're starting to disconnect from the 'internet' and use radios."

"Shortwave radios, Sir," a frog at a monitor elaborated.

"Flood their atmosphere with static."

"Sir, that might disrupt our communications, as well," the frog at the computer desk pointed out.

"We have their satellites don't we? Make sure those remain operational."

"Yes, Sir."

"Tactical expert, prepare to go into the field. It's time for stage three of the invasion."

"Roger that, kuku."

"Remote communications check," Saburo tapped the ear piece he wore.

"Functioning." One of his minions acknowledged.

"Continue communication misdirection and begin stage three," he instructed as he pressed a button that dramatically lowered his platform down to the docking bay. As per Keronian custom he had to go into battle at least a little bit. His command platform came to a stop inside the Doom Ship.

"All systems are go, Lieutenant," the yellow technology expert was already in his seat. Saburo sat down in his designated chair before giving the order to launch.

The Doom Ship's construction had cost a large chunk of the invasion budget. It had no combative capabilities because its function was to cover the planet in waves of hopelessness. Thus, lowering moral and encouraging the Pekoponians to surrender. They detached from the mother ship and hovered over a heavily populated area.

"Start electrical waves," Saburo ordered.

"Clicky," the tactical expert made a sound effect as he pushed the button. Specially designed electrical waves came out of the ship's transmitters and started to blanket the planet in the desire to surrender.

"Mother Ship, report," Saburo demanded from his earpiece.

"All clear, Lieutenant. The dampeners are working, none of our troops are affected."

"Keep me updated." Saburo checked the numbers being collected to make sure it was all within parameters. He also checked in with the mother ship to see how scrambling their radios was going.

"Enemy aircraft incoming," a Keronian alerted. Saburo hit a button on his chair and dropped from the ship. He fell for only a moment before his battle suit unfolded. Keronians were very proud of their battle suit technology and Terrians were famous for being excellent combatants, so he had to show off if he wanted a promotion. Not that this wasn't fun, it very much was. He made sure to destroy the small attacking aircraft with an impressive explosion. These Pekoponian aircraft had decent offensive capabilities but couldn't take a hit.

He defended the Doom Ship until the hopeless waves were at sufficient levels and all Pekoponian government had been crushed. He then ordered the Doom Ship to hover low to the ground over the city they had decided to make the HQ for the invasion and maintain hopeless levels through intermittent bursts.

Saburo took a quick break from the invasion to make sure to get the appropriate propaganda shots of Pekoponians fleeing in terror, their weapons being destroyed, and him standing triumphantly over the ruined city. Just another duty of being in charge.

It was now stage four of the invasion. All powerful assets of Pekopon were captured but there was still a lot of land to cover. Most of the invasion force split into small groups and dispersed to collect all natives left free. The hopeless waves made most of them very easy to capture and lock away in one of the landfills. There wasn't any reason to stay at HQ so he took part in the world wide manhunt.

Saburo hovered over a beach where they had found a camp of Pekoponians hiding. He watched as Coporal Giroro tied them together and called a transport to come pick them up. Giroro was the younger brother of Lieutenant Garuru, a very powerful and popular solider who defiantly had potential to become an admiral. Although less experienced than his brother, Giroro was defiantly going places in life. Saburo had made sure to make Giroro part of the primary invasion force because it was defiantly good politics to be on friendly terms with his family. Saburo watched him set the landing beacon for the transport. There was a rumor floating around that Giroro had once expressed interest in perusing Hinata, Fuyuki's older sister. Another reason for Saburo to keep an eye on him. It might end up being more politically beneficial for him to set up Hinata with Giroro and marry someone else. He had plenty of options. For example that Terrian named Koyuki who would soon finish her assassin training. She had trained under Zeroro, who also happened to be in this invasion force.

A noise from the direction of the ocean caught Saburo's attention. The tactical expert's yellow combat vessel flew towards them over the water. He wasn't needed to monitor the hopeless waves so he too was in the field having some fun. There was nothing interesting so Saburo was about to fly off when he noticed movement under the water. What looked like giant tentacles suddenly shot out of the ocean. With impressive aim, they wrapped around the tactical expert's machine. Before anyone could react they yanked it below the surface. Saburo didn't hesitate for a second and dove into the ocean after it.

"Huh?" Giroro missed the whole thing. He looked up just in time to see Saburo rocket back out of the water carrying the yellow Keronian in both arms. He barely cleared the water when two missiles were fired at him from the ocean. It wasn't hard for him to dodge both the projectiles but more were coming from the water even as he retreated. Giroro joined him in the air and fired at the missiles to explode them.

"What the Hell is going on?" The red Keronian voiced the general thought. They flew up farther and the missiles stopped, at least now they knew their range. A giant squid rose from the water and looked up at them with angry eyes. It still held the yellow combat vessel in its tentacles.

"Kuku, it seems there's another sentient race on this planet. Clicky." The technology specialist pulled out a remote and pushed a button. His machine exploded and sent bits of squid flying everywhere. Saburo flew carefully inland. None of the creatures from the water followed.

"Keep watch here, I'm going to find out more about this," he instructed Giroro.

"Yes Sir."

"I guess I'm coming with you," the technology expert commented as Saburo carried him away from the water and back to HQ.

"Warn all troops about the new threat. Tell everyone to travel in teams of two or more until we know if these things can survive out of the water or not." Saburo ordered. He stood in the control room and watched his minions complete his commands.

"Hey, Saburo," Fuyuki reappeared on the private channel Saburo had opened. "I think I found something." He held a folder that looked like an old mission report. "The first few explorations of Pekopon call the natives 'Nantoma' instead of 'Pekoponians'. From the descriptions it sounds like the Nantoma are a completely different race and they're probably far older than the Pekoponians."

"Does it say if they can live on land?"

"Sorry, all the more recent reports don't mention them. They must have gone into hiding when the Pekoponians became the dominate species."

"Thanks anyway. I'll call you if I need anything else." Saburo ended the communication.

"No reports of the enemy leaving the water, Sir," a Keronian at a monitor supplied.

"One troop reports seeing Pekoponians escape into the ocean."

"They're probably sympathetic to the Pekoponains. Place guards on the beaches we control. If the Pekoponians can now flee into the oceans we'll have to redouble our efforts to collect them all. Send out more slave transports. And make sure anything traveling near the water is armored."

"Right away."

The Nantoma threw a wrench into things. It turned out that they could survive outside of the water. Fortunately, they only had the capabilities of Pekoponians when on land. Their technology had decent fire power but poor range when fired through the air. Saburo ordered the hopeless waves turned to maximum. At that level prolonged exposure could cause brain damage to infants and young children but that was very far down on the list of concerns at the moment. The hopeless waves successfully kept the Nantoma bunkered down in the water and off the offensive. That would have to do for now. Saburo focused on rounding up the rest of the Pekoponains and just monitoring the shorelines for now.

Roughly three days had past and 90% of the planet's Pekoponian population was dealt with by the time Saburo needed to rest. He had practiced staying up this long at an earlier date so he recognized the feeling right away. He excused himself form the control room at HQ and went to a room where he could lie down for a few hours.

"Lieutenant," Saburo made it to the doorway before someone stopped him. He looked over his shoulder to see the tactical expert.

"Do you need something?" he asked.

"Kuku, I owe you one, so here." He held out a small glass vial. "This will help lessen your impending crash form those stimulants you've been taking." Saburo blinked then grinned.

"Thanks." He accepted the gift.

"This is why I'd never want to lead an invasion. I get to sleep at regular intervals."

"Yeah," Saburo slipped the vial into his pocket before anyone could see it. "Keep the idiots in line for a few hours, Sergeant Major."

"Kululu."

"Saburo," he exchanged then went into his room.

After a bit of sleep, Saburo returned to work. How to kill the Nantoma was being discussed when he entered the command room.

"Can't we just take the fight to them?"

"We have no estimate of their population and they know these waters better than we do, we'd loose half the attack force."

"Let's poison them."

"Most of this planet is ocean, that would be a lot of poison." The minions chattered amongst themselves. Kululu sat with his back to them, facing a computer screen.

"The mission is to capture, there's no need to waste energy killing them all." Saburo strode into the room. Everyone instantly got quiet. "They aren't easily targeted like the land dwellers but they need water and that can be moved. Transport most of prisoners to the cargo hold of the Mother Ship and rig the landfills to hold seawater." He purposely paused and waited for his minions to salute and scramble to do his bidding. "Sergeant Major," he glanced purposely over at the yellow frog.

"Already working on plans for a water relocating device."

"Use a few battle ships for the primary hub." He needed to be mindful of his budget and the battleships would have the proper parts to make the device.

"Kukuku, it's nice to have a commanding officer who knows what he's talking about, for once."

"Likewise. How many towers are we going to need?"

"At least twenty." Saburo nodded then mentally went over the personal list to organize guard teams.

He quickly assembled the necessary teams to assemble each tower. The members of the preliminary invasion force, Keroro, Giroro, Tamama, and Zeroro were all assigned to guard the primary hub. Each group of soldiers also had a member of the tactical team to build the tower on site. Some of the towers needed to be close to the shoreline, hence the guards. The towers were needed to direct the water's movement. The planet was circular so it wasn't practical to just take a giant vacuum to the oceans. However, water was a polar molecule so creating a giant electrical and magnetic field to move it about wasn't particularly hard.

Saburo stayed in the field to monitor the construction of the towers and control hub. With everything finished, he stood near the control hub and gave the order. He stood on the ruins of a concrete wall and watched as the ocean divided. The water all moved towards the storage units. The Nantoma were finished, their ships and cities would be left stranded on bone dry ocean beds. The technicians at the aquariums were instructed to scan for any Nantoma that got pulled inside and flood the water with fatal amounts of electricity at any hint of a problem.

"Gero, gero, gero," Keroro laughed as the oceans parted. Saburo carefully watched the water head towards the storage tanks. His attention was then diverted when he heard voices below him.

"Who's making that noise?" It sounded like Keroro was talking with someone he didn't recognize. He looked down at what seemed to be a Pekoponian boy, he had on too many clothes to be a Nantoma, trying to carry on a conversation with the Keronians. He looked a little bit like Fuyuki.

"Saburo!" The boy called to him.

"A feeble Pekoponian isn't worthy of saying my name." How'd he even learn it? "I'm the mighty invader Second Lieutenant Saburo. My minions, send this Pekoponian to the landfill," he ordered.

"Yes Sir," the Keronians said in unison before starting to chase the frightened native. With a huff Saburo turned his attention back to the oceans.

"Report," he commanded over his earpiece.

"All water collected, Sir. No problems detected," a voice responded.

"Hey, where'd he go?" Keroro said as he and the others looked about in confusion. The Pekoponian boy had disappeared.

"He must have fallen into a sinkhole," Giroro said.

"Forget about it. The stragglers will die off on their own," Saburo dismissed the rouge Pekoponian. With all water on the planet under their control, their rule would be unquestioned. This conquest was a little more time consuming and expensive then planned but successful none the less.


	2. Pirates

**Seasnake: No aliens or higher technology in this world. Note: the Keronians are now able to swim in saltwater for a short while because if they were native to Earth it is likely they would be able to. Also, characters are now immoral, murdering, pirates.**

Four Years Ago

Mutsumi Saburo jolted awake to the sound of cannon fire. On reflex he jerked back and smacked his head against the wall. "Ow," he rubbed the back of his skull as he tried to get his bearings. Another defining volley of cannon fire vibrated through the ship. What was going on? Cannon practice? Unlikely because that would draw unnecessary attention to the vessel. Mutsumi maneuvered to his hands and knees right as he heard a distant boom followed by the unmistakable sound of breaking wood. Shit, the ship was under attack. Mutsumi crawled to the knothole he had noticed earlier and peered out. He couldn't see a thing. Another boom confirmed that the enemy ship was on the other side of the vessel. That was a bit of good news. It meant he was less likely to be hit with a cannon ball.

There wasn't much he could to at the moment except wait, unless he wanted to run onto the deck and offer to help. Which was a terrible idea. His help wouldn't change the tide of the battle. Mutsumi leaned against one of the walls and considered his options. If he was lucky the attackers would be defeated. If they came on board then hopefully they wouldn't know what to look for. He'd have to roll with the punches like he always did. Worst case scenario, the ship sank and he drowned right here.

It wasn't long before the booming and creaking stopped. Mutsumi listened as more pairs of feet appeared on deck.

"This ship is now under control of Privateer Keroro!" A slightly squeaky voice announced. Keroro, huh? Governments were giving out privateer licenses to Keronians now? From what Mutsumi had seen the amphibious race made second-rate sailors. What did you expect from such small creatures that could only swim in salt water for a short time without getting sick?

Mutsumi listened as Keroro and a voice he recognized as being the ship's captain negotiated. Once all the treasure was loaded onto the privateer's ship he heard, "Sorry, but we get a bonus for destroying your ship. Give them some previsions and stick them in the rowboats." Well that didn't leave Mutsumi with much choice. He crawled forward and carefully yanked down one plank of wood enough to create a small space for him to wedge through.

"Actually," he said loud enough for everyone to hear as he climbed on deck. "I'd prefer if you didn't sink the ship with me on still onboard." Their collective expressions were priceless as they watched a strange boy appear from the woodwork.

"Who the hell is that?" A red Keronian pointed a pistol at the ship captain.

"I have no idea." The captain held up his hands.

It looked like a good half of the privateers on board were Keronians. Keroro was obviously the green one in the captain's hat. There was the red one, a blue one with a mask, and a one-eyed yellow one standing not far from where Mutsumi wriggled out of his hiding place. "Sorry for the confusion, I was just getting a free trip." He maneuvered his legs out of the small opening.

"Stowaway, huh?" The red one grumbled.

"Stowaway?" Keroro repeated.

"Yeah," Mutsumi stood up.

"Then what's this?" The yellow frog walked right up to him and grabbed his jacket. Mutsumi didn't resist as he pulled a pouch from his pocket. Everyone watched as the yellow Keronian untied it and removed a jeweled locket on a golden chain. "Kukuku. I thought they were missing some merchandise. He's a stowaway and a thief."

"Heh," Mutsumi scratched the back of his head in a show of awkwardness, "I was hoping you wouldn't find that. Now they're going to kill me." The crew of the trader ship, that had been hired to transport valuable jewelry and gemstones, were all giving him murderous looks. They were trained to kill anyone who tried to steal their cargo and Mutsumi definitely qualified.

"Kukuku. Not a problem, you're coming with us."

"What? You don't get to decide that!" the red frog protested.

"I just figured that you group of bleeding hearts wouldn't want to throw him to the sharks," the yellow one indicated the group of men being loaded onto the rowboats. The red frog grumbled something under his breath.

"And he was able to sneak onboard a heavily guarded ship," the blue one with a mask added.

"Sounds like recruitment material to me," Captain Keroro decided. "Welcome aboard the mighty Star, child stowaway."

Three Years Ago

"So…how'd you loose your eye?" Mutsumi slurred while wobbling back and forth in his chair.

"Why are you asking? That's boring question," Kululu, equally drunk, asked. He was surprisingly stable in his chair for the amount of alcohol he had consumed.

"Well, Fuyuki's not here to ask it anymore," Mutsumi moved his tumbler around and watched the rum make waves. The whole crew was drinking tonight. One of the street kids that Keroro had brought on board had died from a fever that morning. They had given him a sea burial and were now docked at a small port, getting drunk.

"Don't tell me you're all chocked up about that." Fuyuki and his sister had joined the crew right before Mutsumi had. This whole drinking expedition had been started by a grieving Keroro and his mission to get Natsumi drunk enough to stop her crying. It didn't work. She just ended up falling unconscious and needing Giroro to carry her back to the ship.

"Ahh, he was nice. You liked him, too." Some of Mutsumi's rum splashed over the rim.

"He was nice," Kululu admitted and drank another sip. Oh right, that's what this cup was for. Mutsumi took a gulp then glanced around the room. Keroro, Tamama, Dororo, and a dozing Koyuki still sat together laughing loudly in a corner. Koyuki was Dororo's new best friend, some kid he picked up recently from somewhere that Mutsumi couldn't remember at the moment.

"Some dumb kid," Kululu said in a higher pitched voice than usual. "He tried to challenge me. What was his name?" Kululu continued. "Tor-something. Toro. I don't care."

"He actually hurt you? Wow…" Mutsumi wobbled in place.

"Yeah, but there's nothing left of him. Not after years at the bottom of the ocean, fish ate him." Kululu was getting less coherent.

"You're my best friend. You know that." The room was starting to spin so Mutsumi rested his head on the table.

"I know that," Kululu agreed. "You're my best friend. You know that."

"Do you like anyone but me?"

"…I don't think so. No one likes me, do you like me?"

"I like you." Mutsumi knocked over his cup and watched the liquid go everywhere with amusement.

"I like you. Everyone likes you…because they're stupid."

"Not that stupid."

"Why do I like you? I don't know. Don't ask such hard questions." Kululu carried on a conversation with himself. "Are you going to get married to Natsumi? Why do we have girls on board? We shouldn't have girls. But we do because they're stupid."

"The girls or captain?"

"All them."

"All them, yeah." Mutsumi gave a few heavy blinks. "Ey, Kululu," he adjusted how he sat to be more comfortable. "Let's kill everyone."

"Kukukuk," Kululu started laughing. "Why?"

Mutsumi took a minute to answer because he was trying not to doze off. "I don't know. Sounds like fun. Yeah, let's kill everyone. Then we can live happily ever after. That's what they say, isn't it?"

"Kukukuku, yeah, why not."

"You and me, we kill everyone."

"We kill everyone, me and you."

"Let's do it. I'll be captain 'cause everyone likes me."

"Yes, you be captain."

"And then we'll bring them all back. And then we'll drink. And then other things that I don't care..."

"Go to sleep, Mutsumi."

Two Years Ago

"They're watching the sunset, again." Mutsumi announced as he joined Kululu below deck. "It's adorable."

"So?" Kululu didn't look up from his star charts as the boy sat down nearby.

"She still has a crush on me but it seems less and less likely that she'll choose me over Giroro."

"Giroro will kill you if she does."

"Maybe not, it depends on how stoutly Natsumi turns him down." Mutsumi propped his boots up against the edge of Kululu's desk and leaned his chair back on two legs. He pulled a knife from his boot. "The age and race difference will probably be too much for her to accept him." He skillfully held the blade between his fingers. "Either that or she will learn about his crushing love and find it creepy rather than romantic." He threw the knife towards the far wall where it became imbedded in the bull's-eye of the paper target tacked there. "He's walking a thin line between the two." He retrieved a second knife and started to line up his shot. "Depending on how she sees it, we could be out another crew member."

"Why haven't you seduced her yet?" Kululu moved a compass across a piece of paper while he spoke.

"I can't be any more obvious about it without risking my popularity among the crew." Thunk, another knife stabbed the wall.

"Hm, not worth it."

"I agree. Should we revisit the option of killing Giroro?"

"If he makes good on his threats to come after you, he's dead."

"That's sweet of you."

"But if he survives, then having an ally in the navy would be beneficial," Kululu continued. It was common knowledge that his friendship with Keroro was the only reason Giroro wasn't in the navy with his big brother.

"Yes, but is it worth having him go to the navy and take Natsumi with him? If Natsumi leaves then Koyuki might also want to abandon ship. We could loose her and Dororo."

"We can probably convince them to…" Mutsumi interrupted him by suddenly dropping his chair back down on all four legs. Kululu returned to his maps and Mutsumi fiddled with a third knife as Keroro appeared in the doorway.

"Hey, what are you doing?" the captain asked cheerfully.

"Practicing."

"Working, go away," Kululu dismissed him.

"Keep it up," Keroro skipped away. Mutsumi smirked. The stupid idiot had no idea what was coming.

One Year Ago:

Mutsumi stood in front of his new mirror. He wore a satisfied smirk and a large plumed hat, the latter of which he adjusted on his head.

"You and your hats," a familiar voice remarked from the doorway.

"Congratulate me, Kululu. Voted to Captain by such a large margin is a feat you could never pull off," he grinned at the Keronian. Kululu just shut the door to the captain's quarters behind him.

"Kuku, I'm more surprised by my promotion," the new quartermaster snickered.

"Kululu, people may not like you but they all recognize your skill."

"Are you trying to comfort me?"

"Of course not, success is all the comfort we require." Mutsumi turned back to his mirror and grinned at his reflection. He'd never worn such nice clothes before. "I could get used to this."

"If stage two goes to plan then you can, kukuku." Kululu walked around the captain's quarters, eyeing the shelves filled with Keroro's possessions. "This is all junk."

"Just like the ship. I'll keep most of his collection, the rest will be worth a few shillings."

"We need a good show tomorrow or both Tamama and Mois might commit suicide." Kululu made himself comfortable in one of the chairs.

"Loyalty," Mutsumi smirked at the concept. "Tomorrow will decide which one of them we keep." Without Keroro around, they really couldn't keep both Tamama and Mois in line so one of them had to go. In tomorrow's fight they'd see who was better at following orders in Keroro's absence and keep that one. They also needed to make good impressions on their new crew.

Dororo wasn't stupid, he might realize they were killing anyone who got in their way. Keroro's disposal was a work of art that could rival any trained assassin. However, Giroro's had been a tad sloppy and with either Mois or Tamama's impending death he might put the pieces together.

Giroro's unfortunate passing was the result of bad judgment and bad luck. The red frog had the misfortune of overhearing Mutsumi laugh to himself about something cute Natsumi did. He then made the poor decision to pull out his pistol, possibly to kill, possibly to threaten. Either way, Kululu happened to be nearby when this transpired and chose not to take the chance that the gun enthusiast would kill his only chance at power. They managed to frame one of the newer crewmembers for Giroro's death. But anyone who examined their story too closely would be able to find a few holes. No one had though. Which was fortunate considering Natsumi's, Dororo's, and Koyuki's loyalty would all shrivel to nothing if they knew the truth. Natsumi was still infatuated with Saburo but that wouldn't last if she knew everything.

Tomorrow a brand new ship would make its way from port and they already had a plan to capture it. They would have a new vessel and an excellent crew. The only thing left to do was decide what to name the ship.

Present:

"Not bad for a single year, hm?" Mutsumi played with a gold coin between his fingers.

"Not bad," Kululu agreed. A mound of gold and other stolen goods took up a corner of the room.

"Once this whole room is full we'll retire. How's that sound?" Mutsumi tossed the coin back onto the pile.

"Together?"

"Why not? We do everything else together," he grinned at the Keronian.

"Fine. But this place is dull. It's a good hideout but let's find someplace more exciting." Mutsumi smirked and walked over to join Kululu at the table.

"No place too exciting. We're already becoming infamous. Sooner or later we're going to miss a witness and people will learn what we look like." He sat down across from the Keronian. "Hey, want to do that cliché trick where we turn one of us in for the money then escape?"

"Kukuku, that won't work. Your bounty's for dead or alive."

"Maybe just one of the crew, then we don't have to bother saving them."

"That would give us a bad reputation."

They were sitting in comfortable silence when a boy seemed to fall from the ceiling and landed on the pile of gold.

"Eh?" They both turned to look at the stranger.

"S…Saburo?"

"Where did you come from?" Mutsumi all but pounced on the intruder. Intimidation was a technique that always served him well. "You're pretty bold for coming to my hideout without permission." The boy cringed away immediately.  
"I'm sorry!" he wailed and squirmed away. This was obviously some clueless kid from the town that wasn't too far away. He looked scared enough not to mention this to his friends so Mutsumi let him run screaming out of the hut.

"Humph," Kululu gave an amused snort.

"Something you want to say?" Mutsumi raised an eyebrow.

"You'll kill your shipmates but not some random kid? Four years later and I still don't get you."


End file.
